Defending in football is a fine art. In many ways, it's the aspect of the game that requires the most co-ordination - centre-backs, full-backs and goalkeepers need an almost psychic bond to be at their collective best.

Unfortunately for the Chicago Red Stars, their defenders temporarily lost their psychic bond here. The National Women's Soccer League side suffered one of the cruelest defensive mix ups ever - it's a truly brutal error.

The Red Stars were 1-0 up against the Portland Thorns when a fairly innocuous ball was pinged into their area. Keeper and defender went for it simultaneously. They then totally wiped each other out, getting nowhere near the ball.

This let Thorns' midfielder Allie Long in for a tap in. The Red Stars went on to lose the match 2-1.